Duels
by The Queen Of Mischief
Summary: Hermione loathes Draco with a vengeance. But she finds that he is an equally good dueller, when she's forced to interact with him in a more-or-less civil way i.e. a duel. DH fluff. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"_Stupefy!"_ cried Hermione Granger in her Defense against the Dark Arts **(for simplicity's sake, let's refer to it as DADA, shall we?)**.They were having a practice session in defense/dueling. Well, thus the name of the class. But here they were learning how to get rid of enemies and they had been divided into two separate groups so that each person would get to fight with at least three members of the opposing team. Confusing, yes, but truly fun. Especially since she was defeating all her opponents.

Now, Hermione didn't _particularly _enjoy attacking her classmates or even defending herself against their attacks by attacking them—if that makes any sense—but it certainly felt good to know that you were really good at something, and Hermione was.

Of course, the fact that her opponents were Slytherins and Ravenclaws didn't make her victories any less sweet. That was how Snape separated them: Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs in one team, and Slytherins and Ravenclaws in the other.

Of course, she wholeheartedly enjoyed kicking Slytherin butt, and while she didn't have anything personal against the Ravenclaws, she'd always privately felt that those know-it-alls were too snotty for their own bloody good.

Now Hermione could understand why she didn't have many friends when she first came to Hogwarts. No-one liked a know-it-all who always pointed out their mistakes to them.

She had changed, though, and that was good, but the Ravenclaws hadn't, which was why she enjoyed dueling with them. It was good that they weren't completely brainless, too, because at least she would have some competition.

She had already dueled with (and beaten) one unknown Ravenclaw and Martin Gray (Slytherin—slimy, too). She swung her gaze to her next opponent, and almost choked on her own tongue because of shock. Not that she was worried, of course. She could beat this git in a heartbeat.

She narrowed her eyes at him when his gaze met hers, and she saw him mirror her action. Now, of course, she could never generate such loathing towards even a Ravenclaw, so we can infer that her next opponent was a Slytherin. And there was only one Slytherin whom she hated this much. Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy." She said as icily as she could manage.

"Mudblood." he said coolly, a smirk playing on his lips. She scowled at the name, and his smirk grew wider. Now she knew she _had_ to beat him. Her pride depended on it. The rules of fair dueling dictated that they both bow, and since Malfoy clearly wasn't about to start—some gentleman—she decided to go first. _Before I grow old and die glaring at him._ She bowed to an angle of about 10 degrees, barely perceptible.

To her anger, he grinned and said "It's shocking that a mudblood like you should know to bow to nobility. Though you could be a bit more graceful about it."

Her mind reeled off in snarky responses, but she voiced none of them. _One of them had to be more mature._ Seeing as he wasn't ever going to bow, she decided to do the honors.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ she cried. His wand appeared to vibrate, but it remained where it was.

"Confundus!" he responded almost instantly. Suddenly, her vision started to go wavy and she wondered where she was, confused. Then she remembered, and snapped, "Conjunctivitis!" It was a recently learnt spell that damaged the opponent's eyesight.

Malfoy rubbed his eyes and muttered a string of swear words. She smiled, and took the moment to her advantage. "Stupefy!"

However, Malfoy was fast, and he snapped the counter-curse, "Ennervate!" right before it hit him, protecting him. He continued, on a roll, "Locomoter Mortis!" Hermione's legs snapped together as though paralyzed. However, the rest of her still worked, so she cried "Rictusempra!"

Malfoy twitched, trying to resist the tickling, and managed to snap, "Merlin, Granger, could you be any more immature?"

"Look who's talking!" she snapped right back. Suddenly, the leg spell wore off and she felt normal again.

"Serpensortia!" he said. A giant snake appeared before Hermione, slithering towards her fast, hissing menacingly. Hermione had never admitted this to anyone, but she was terrified of snakes. Now, however, was not the time to show that fear, or worry about it. "Indepmenta!" she said. The snake looked as though it had slithered into a giant puddle of thick, gooey honey, its speed slowing down to almost half of what it was before.

The snake suddenly flew to the wall and splattered into a million bits of flesh and guts. Ugh. Since that obviously wasn't Malfoy's work, since he looked as confused as she did, she looked around for the creator of the spell.

It was then that they both noticed that the whole class was watching them—including Snape—with a stunned look. Hermione realized why. The rest of the class had been going "EXPELLIARMUS!" at each other the whole session, and here she and Malfoy were, dueling like whoa.

Snape stepped forward and narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "An excellent display of talent, Mr. Malfoy." He said, and grudgingly added, "Ms. Granger. However, the two of you seem to have forgotten the _objective_ of this session, which was to use _simple _spells. Perhaps you will remember that the next time around." He gazed around the room in disdain. "Now, perhaps you would care to clean up this…_mess_ after class as well?"

They then noticed that chairs had been upturned, papers scattered everywhere, bookshelves toppled over, inkpots upset and of course, that snake on the wall.

"Class dismissed," said Snape after a few minutes of lecturing them about Merlin knows what. Soon Hermione and Malfoy were the only ones left in the class.

They silently began to clean up the room, not looking at each other, and giving the other a wide berth.

When Hermione could no longer take it, she blurted, "I cannot believe you Serpensortia'd me."

He smirked. "What? You scared of snakes?"

She grimaced inwardly. How had he figured that one out? "No. Most snakes are shy and harmless, _just like Slytherins."_ She jibed. He scowled.

"Stupid mudblood." he muttered.

"I heard that."

"Good for you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

--  
_"I heard that."_

"_Good for you."_

_--_

After that comment, Hermione suggested that Draco violate himself in a way he had never believed possible.

"My, my Granger. I don't quite know if I'm capable of doing something like that. You shall have to teach me. After all, you're the master at this sort of thing." He smirked. She narrowed her eyes.

"You are scared of snakes, though, aren't you?" he asked suddenly, sliding into the chair he had just righted and looking at her inquisitively, showing a brief glimmer of a side of him she had never witnessed.

"What's it to you?" she snapped, somewhat shocked inwardly.

He shrugged, his distant, cold air returning instantly. "Nothing."

She sighed, and scrubbed at some ink on a table.

"Pansy. Your _girlfriend_, trapped me in a train compartment on the way to Hogwarts with a giant snake in second year. Quite similar to the one _you_ conjured up actually." She stared at him.

He ignored her hostile look. "Wow. Really?"

"Yes, and for the record, I'm not _scared_ of snakes, I just don't _like_ them."

"How nice for you. And 'for the record', she's not my girlfriend."

"How nice for _you_." She shot back, and was surprised to see him grin. "I deserved that."

"You sure did."

"You're not supposed to agree with me, mudblood." he said, sounding somewhat annoyed.

She rolled her eyes and returned to the ink on the desk. _Idiot._

"You don't _have_ to keep calling me that, you know." She said without thinking.

"What?" the statement caught him off-guard.

"I get it already: I'm a mudblood. But I'm not stupid; you don't have to keep repeating it over and over again."

He was silent.

_What, no mean response now?_ She thought with a scowl and she began to scrub the ink more furiously.

She allowed herself a quick glance at him and saw that he was sitting on the chair, not doing a blinking thing, looking lost in thought.

"You can start doing some work, you know." She snapped.

"You're right." He said suddenly.

"I know I'm bloody right. Now get to work."

"No, not _that._ About the mudblood thing." He said. "I don't _have_ to keep calling you that."

She was shocked.

"In fact, I won't." he said decisively.

"Wowwww." She said, with a roll of her eyes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He said plainly.

"It's called sarcasm, Malfoy, you may want to learn it."

"Yes, yes. Now keep working." He said, leaning back on his chair.

Her jaw dropped and she stood up, and glared. "Why aren't _you_ doing anything?"

"Nobility cannot be expected to do chores meant for lowly servants." He stated.

"What happened to the whole 'not putting Granger down anymore' thing?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't put you down anymore. I said I would stop calling you a mudblood."

"Oh for the love of—okay, Malfoy, get your lazy arse off that chair and get to work before I make you."

"Oh? And how exactly do you propose to do that?"

She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. "Don't make me give you a demonstration."

"Alright, alright. Chill, Granger." He stood up and held his hands up innocently.

She pursed her lips and continued her work. She was thankful to see him begin to work too. _Nobility my ass. _From the corner of her eye, she caught him smirk and return to his work.

Soon enough, their work was done. They hadn't said a word to each other, and yet they were pretty efficient. They knew they were both dismissed, but they didn't know how to take their leave, so they stood there and stared at each other. For like, three minutes. Until Hermione muttered, "Oookay." Awkwardly, and exited without looking back. Draco followed, and they parted ways.

--

Hermione went into the common room and was instantly ambushed by a crazy hormonal Ginny. "Ohmigosh, Harry told me you had to stay back after DADA to clean up the mess you made with Draco Malfoy when you had that totally epic duel!"" was the first thing she squealed.

Hermione groaned. She was in no mood to talk about this. At all. But she found that if she cooperated with Ginny, the interrogation would end more quickly. "Yes Ginny."

"He's so totally hot, 'Mione." Sighed Ginny, in a dreamy schoolgirl voice. This caused Hermione's head to snap up in shock. "_What?_" she asked.

Ginny shrugged defensively. "Well, he is… I mean, let's face it, have you _seen_ his butt?" Hermione was horrified. "_No_, I have _not_. Ginny, he's Slytherin scum."

"So what?" asked Ginny. "I still think he's hot. And you should never judge a book by its cover."

"Even if the cover says 'Stupid arrogant pompous git with nothing better to do than torment other people' and 'Do not touch'?"

"Especially if it says that." said Ginny, knowledgably. "He's had a bad childhood and he needs the perfect girl to nurse him till he regains the will to live."

_Huh?_

"Ginny, have you experienced any severe knocks on the head recently? Firstly, the fact that he had a bad childhood has _no_ relevance to the tormenting others thing. And secondly, he has _not_ had a bad childhood. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and now look how he turned out."

"He may have had a silver spoon, but he wasn't _loved._ That's why he needs the perfect girl to love him like his parents never did."

"I suppose you'd like me to tell you that you're that perfect girl?" asked Hermione in a dry voice. She knew Ginny all too well.

"I am?" asked Ginny, her eyes glazing over. "Really?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned when Ginny sighed again. Ginny soon snapped back to reality. "So?" she asked, her eyes bright once more, her voice expectant. Hermione was used to these sudden changes in her behavior.

"So what?" asked Hermione blankly.

"Was it nice?' asked Ginny sounding just a tad impatient.

"Cleaning up the DADA class? No not really. It was rather tiring, in fact." She was enjoying Ginny's anguished expression that said '_Merlin, could you be any more thick_?' when Ginny said with the patience of a saint, "No, Hermione, was it nice cleaning the class with _Draco_? Was _he _nice?"

"No, as a matter of fact. He was arrogant, and pompous, and kept calling himself nobility." Said Hermione frankly. But Ginny's spirits could not be deflated.

"Well Hermione… he is sort of nobility, you know. I mean, his ancestors were most likely kings. His father is high ranking in the world of magic and his mother is a lady of leisure. He has a huge mansion for a house with several holiday homes speckled across the whole world. I think that suitably qualifies him for the title of a noble."

Hermione didn't know this, nor did she want to know how exactly _Ginny_ knew this. "Well he doesn't have to go around pointing it out to the whole world all the time."

"Well did you know that if you didn't bow to nobility in the past, you would be publicly beheaded? At least he's better than that." said Ginny, shrugging.

"Still." Said Hermione obstinately. "It doesn't negate the fact that he's an absolute snot."

Ginny sighed. "Alright, Hermione. Whatever you say."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Life proceeded somewhat normally for Hermione after that. Ginny stopped hounding her about Draco—er, Malfoy… Ginny's nonstop calling him Draco was starting to get to her—and life was good. The exams had just ended but that didn't mean that Hermione stopped studying. She was just…taking a break for a while, by brushing up on her general knowledge in the library.

So one day, in the morning, she grabbed a Snickers bar and went to the library. Settling down in her usual place, right at the back, she sought out a book and opened it contentedly, along with her candy bar. She took a nibble.

"What's that?" asked a male voice in front of her. _Shit._ Her over-imaginative mind reeled off in a list of possible scenarios and outcomes and what she could do to prevent the aforementioned scenarios so as to change the outcomes. She looked up, and her mind went blank. It was—who else?—Draco Malfoy. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans—not exactly appropriate pure-blood attire, Hermione couldn't help but think with a little internal smile—and sneakers.

"What's what?" she asked, trying to stay cool, but totally clueless about what he was referring to.

"That thing you're eating." He said, with a roll of his eyes that indicated, _What else, Granger?_

"This? It's a Snickers candy bar." She said, surprised he had never heard of it. Then again, how could he have? He had never explored the muggle world or anything.

"Is it good?" he asked. He didn't sound at all malicious or sarcastic, just curious. "Er, yes, it is." She replied. "Would you like to try some?" _Shit, _she hadn't intended for that to come out.

He shrugged and sat down next to her, and said "Okay."

Still incredibly surprised, she handed him the bar and watched as he took a tiny inquisitive nibble. His eyes instantly widened, his pupils dilated. "That…" he paused for effect. "Is awesome." She couldn't help but laugh. "You can have it if you want," she offered, but before she could finish her sentence, the bar was half gone. She rolled her eyes. "Thanks," Malfoy mumbled, his mouth full of candy. She couldn't help but laugh.

Once he had devoured the Snickers bar, he looked at her book and asked, "What's that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Merlin Malfoy, I know you're a repressed pureblood and all, but I would think you would at least know what _this_ is. It's a book. You _read_ it." She spoke as though she were talking to a very small, very stupid child.

He rolled his eyes right back. "I know what a book is, Granger. I was asking _which_ book you happened to be reading." He said, sounding bored already.

She showed him the cover. It was a book about mermaids. "Oh." He said. "I read another book about mermaids by that same author." He remarked. "It was called Mermaid Erotica." He sounded matter-of-fact.

She looked disgusted. "God, Malfoy, can you not be so sick?"

"There's nothing sick about it." He said.

"Well, perhaps not to _you_." She shot back, the implications clear. Everyone knew Draco Malfoy was a notorious playboy. He smirked. "Jealous, Granger?"

"Of you?" she asked, sarcastically. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Why would I? I have a horde of people willing to do it for me 24/7." He replied, never at a loss for words. She rolled her eyes at his pompousness. "Yes, you have that entourage of mindless zombies with big boobs and blonde hair. Congratulations." To her chagrin, his smirk only grew wider. Stupid git.

Just then, Blaise Zabini, Draco's closest friend, and good friend of Hermione's too, walked in the library. "You do realize you sound like an old married couple, don't you?" he drawled, with a hint of a smile playing about his lips. "I swear, when I came in, I thought one of the teachers was here, having an early morning romp with his/her husband/wife."

To his amusement, both Hermione and Draco flushed bright red. "Shut up." Hissed Hermione, who was secretly shocked that Draco had the decency to blush.

Draco, however, soon lost his flush and said, matching Blaise's drawl, "You seem to know a lot about what an early morning romp would sound like."

Blaise grimaced. "Long story, my friend, one so obscene and vulgar that you'll never hear the likes of it again."

Draco groaned. "I don't want to know." Hermione nodded, for once in agreement. "Me either."

"Aww, you just had your first agreement. Congratulations." Said Blaise with a little wink. It was Hermione's turn to groan. "Go talk to Ginny. Something tells me you two will have a lot in common."

Blaise ignored her. Just then, Draco caught sight of his watch. _Shit_. He was late for Potions! "I've got to get to Potions." He said and made a dash for his class.

Hermione realized that she too, was late for Herbology. She said bye and ran, leaving a very amused looking Blaise in her wake. He shook his head with a grin. _Those guys take everything too seriously._

He then realized that _he_ was late for Ancient Runes and yelled a list of profanities so obscene that the librarian looked about ready to faint.

_Old crone_, he thought, and ran like the wind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

All Hermione could think about as she sat in class was, "Wow, that was weird." She was shocked to see that she and Dra—MALFOY—could interact in an almost civil manner. Somewhat like friends. Not that they would ever acknowledge that, of course. It wasn't true anyways. They weren't friends. She still hated him and he still hated her.

The only problem was, she couldn't exactly remember why. He wasn't really _a bad person_, per se, it was just that some of his opinions differed from hers. And maybe even not by that much.

Hermione soon managed to push all these thoughts out of her head and go up to her dorm room after lessons ended at around six thirty. That was when she found that all her thoughts hadn't quite popped out her head yet.

She tossed and turned in bed that night, even after a comforting session with her Arithmetic books. There was only one solution to a dilemma such as the one she was facing. The kitchen.

--

She pulled on a robe and slippers and padded down to the hallways as quietly as possible, so as to not wake anyone. That was the last thing she wanted. Once out of the dorm, she moved more freely and made her way to the portrait of the fruit, where she tickled the pear and was granted access.

There were few house-elves, which was, to Hermione, good. She went to the actual cooking area and made herself some hot chocolate. Dark and frothy. Perfect.

She sat down at the table she always sat at when she went to the kitchen, and began to drink her chocolate.

Almost instantly, she felt about ready to float away. Just then, a voice behind her said "That looks good."

She almost jumped out of her skin. "God, Malfoy, do you have to keep sneaking up on me like that? It's bloody annoying." She snapped. To her further vexation, he smirked. "Yep," he replied plainly. She rolled her eyes and muttered something inaudible.

"What was that, Granger?" he asked, exaggeratedly cupping a hand around his ear. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of my awesomeness."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Malfoy, could you _be _any more lame?" he appeared to ponder it. "I suppose. I mean, if I really _wanted_ to." She rolled her eyes again. "I was being _sarcastic_."

He grinned knowingly. "I know." Somehow, she didn't doubt that he did. He slid into the seat next to her. "Why are you here, anyway, Malfoy?" she asked him. He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Wanted sugar. Helps me sleep."

"Sugar helps you _sleep_?" asked Hermione incredulously. Even though she liked sugar at night, she knew it wouldn't help her sleep any easier.

"Yes." He said, dragging out the syllable as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She shook her head. She wasn't even going to _try_ to understand _that_ one.

"Do you want some?" she asked, seeing as he was not-very-discreetly eyeing her mug. And he clearly wasn't about to go and make some for himself. Lazy person.

He nodded like a little child finally being allowed to open his presents at Christmas and took the mug from her. "Thanks," he glanced at her, and drank some chocolate.

His pupils clearly dilated. His pale gray silver irises contrasted so obviously with the black of his pupils that it was pretty obvious he was on the sugar high of his life. Hermione couldn't help but smile.

She had to admit, he looked absolutely adorable. As much as she hated herself for even thinking that. she allowed herself to study him as he drank all _her_ chocolate.

On first sight, it was no wonder why he got all the girls. He was gorgeous. He could be a model. But upon closer viewing, you would see that it was the fact that he could convey and hide emotions so well at the same time that made him so gorgeous.

He had wide eyes with silvery gray irises that were almost luminous. To most people, they were cold, but she had seen him around his friends once in a while. And with good friends, the iciness in his eyes melted away to show a warm interior.

He had a long, straight nose that very few people could actually pull off. He also had a sensitive mouth, with a cupid's bow that could make any girl (with the exception of Hermione, of course) swoon, and wonder what it would be like to be kissed by those lips (probably really good). His just-above-the-collar-length hair was a silvery blonde colour she had never seen on any other guy. It was soft and silky and one particular lock kept falling into his face, and he had to constantly push it away.

As much as she begrudged him for it, he was hot. Like, really, really hot. Right now, however, she snapped back to reality and noticed that he had finished the chocolate, and was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and an interested expression. _Dear God, please let me not be drooling_, she prayed. "What?" she asked staring right back at him.

He appeared to snap out of some sort of reverie—the same one she had just been in—and asked, blankly, "What?"

"What?" she asked again stupidly.

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Well, me either." She folded her arms across her chest defensively and raised her chin. He looked amused, and then he looked as though he was trying to stop himself from laughing, but he couldn't help it, and a tiny snort escaped. Before they knew it, they were both laughing like lunatics. It was so stupid!

"Hey, Granger," he said, once they were done. "Yes?" she asked. "I've been thinking…" he paused here, and she took the silence to her advantage and gave a mock gasp. "Wow, really? I didn't know you could do that!" he rolled his eyes, and said haughtily, "I'm not going to dignify that with a response." She smiled and said, "You just did." After a moment, he grinned.

There was momentary silence and she said impatiently, "Well? What were you thinking?" "Oh. Well, I was thinking, maybe we should call a truce." Her eyes widened, genuinely surprised. "_You're_ initiating a truce? Draco Malfoy? Have I gone nuts or am I being _Punk'd_?"

"Yes, I'm initiating a truce." He sniffed. "You were nuts a long time ago, and I have no idea what being _Punked_ means."

She grinned. "Huh. I suppose we could call a truce." She held out a hand and he accepted and they shook on it. She was surprised to find his grip warm, and firm. _Well, what did you _expect?_ That he's a vampire?_ Well, truth be told, she could kind of picture him as a vampire. "And by the way, it's not _Punked_. It's _Punk_ apostrophe _d_."

"That's grammatically inaccurate." He pointed out. She rolled her eyes and grinned. "So what is it?" he asked.

"_Punk'd?" _she asked. He rolled his eyes now. "No, Granger, pelicans." She blinked. He said, "Yes I mean _Punk'd_."

She grinned and explained it to him, only to have him enquire as to who Ashton Kutcher might be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You're friends?" squeaked Ginny delightedly when Hermione relayed the news. "Yes, we called a truce." Said Hermione. "I don't know if that makes us friends, but we're definitely not hard-core enemies."

Ginny appeared not to have heard her. "So that means you're qualified to date him?"

"What?" asked Hermione, shocked. "I don't _want_ to date him."

Ginny fluttered a hand at her. "That's not important. What's important is, you get to _touch_ that ass whenever you please."

"Ginny, you sicken me." Said Hermione, making a face. Ginny shrugged. "He _is_ totally gorge."

"First of all, the fact that he's so beautiful does not mean we should all want to get together with him. Second of all, '_gorge'_?"

"Well, of course it does. And gorge is the new It word. So fetch." Said Ginny, smiling. _Fetch_? Thought Hermione. She'd better stop using those words, or I swear I'm going to _retch_. Honestly…

"Sure, Gin. Sure." Said Hermione, before muttering something about a headache and going to her room.

--

Later on in the day, Hermione had a History class. She sat down in her usual place, and started to take out her quills and ink and stuff. Just then, Malfoy—er, perhaps she was supposed to call him Draco?—sauntered in and looked around for an empty seat. Seeing one beside Hermione, he walked towards it and sat down. "Hey, Granger."

"Hey Malfoy." She shot back with a smile. "By the way, I was thinking, are we down to a first-name basis or something, seeing as we're not sworn enemies?"

He looked thoughtful. "I suppose so. Okay, first name basis it is, then." The decisiveness with which he said it made Hermione smile. He grinned, then stared incredulously at her homework and quills and ink laid out on her desk. "Merlin, Granger, could you be any more of a nerd?"

She glared. "I don't suppose you even _finished_ your homework." She snapped. He smirked. "Why, as a matter of fact…" he pulled out a wodge of parchment. She gaped, never having thought that Draco Malfoy actually did his work. "Shocked?" he smirked again. Not wanting to be at a loss for words, she said, "And what happened to the first-name thing?"

At least he had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, I forgot." He apologized. She rolled her eyes. _Oh yes, he can excel in all his exams, but he can't even remember something he said less than five minutes ago?_ Idiot.

Just after she was done thinking that, Professor Binns walked in. The lesson began, and Hermione and Draco's argument was forgotten.

--

So the days passed. Hermione and Draco had gained some semblance of friendship. They still sparred with each other, but it was more in a jokey-we're-all-friends way rather than a I-hate-your-guts sort of way. Life was good. Of course, they were both studying like a bunch of headcases, but that was normal…

One day, Hermione decided to go to the library to check if the book she had been dying to read for so long was finally available. Once inside, she began to search the shelves for her book. Just then, she caught sight of the familiar bright red book jacket. And she also happened to catch sight of the person taking it out of the shelf. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.

She stalked up to him and seeing her scowl, he grinned triumphantly. "HAH. I _beat_ you to it! HAH!" Well, she couldn't exactly snatch it from his hands because he _had_ gotten it first, but it did suck that she missed by only a few seconds. "All right, Malfoy…er, Draco…you don't have to rub it in my face."

The glimmer of surprise that she had actually called him Draco was replaced almost instantly by more triumph. "Oh, but I do! It makes my victory all the more sweet." She resisted pointing her middle finger at him. That would be uncivilized.

"Whatever, Malfoy." She said instead coldly. He appeared to realize that she was pissed off and said "You can have it once I'm done, if you want." Some of her iciness appeared to melt. "Thanks."

He grinned. However, it vanished so suddenly, she asked curiously, "What?"

He smirked now. "The gay—I mean, _Golden_—Duo appear to be looking for you." He pointed behind her. She turned to see Harry and Ron looking around for her, appearing to have finally realized that she spent most of her time in that library. Ron was looking around in disgust at all the books.

"Hello, Harry, Ron." She smiled at them. Harry smiled back. Ron scowled. "Hey, 'Mione." Said Harry, giving a confused but polite nod towards Draco. She liked Harry for that. He had the "Any friend of hers is a friend of mine," philosophy. Draco nodded back. Ron, however, did not have the mental capacity to infer that the reason Draco and Hermione were standing in the same vicinity was that they were friends, said rudely, "What're you doing here, Malfoy? Bugger off."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Ron. Malfoys took orders from no-one, especially half-wits like Weasley. "Make me." He challenged.

"Hermione, what are you doing with this… in-breed?" asked Ron. Draco almost choked on his own spit. "You forget, Weasel, that I am still in the vicinity. And I'm no more an in-bred that you're intelligent." He said calmly.

"Your mother is a---" here Ron said some rather nasty things about Draco's mother which I'd rather not repeat **(A/N 'else I'd have to rate this story M)**.

Now Draco got mad. "Keep your filthy mouth off my mother." He snarled, his eyes hard, his hand going to his wand instantly and hovering over it. Ron merely sneered, even though Draco was infinitely better at magic than he was. Hermione decided to intervene. "Ron, shut up, okay?" her eyes fell to Draco's hand near his wand, and gave a tiny shake of her head as if to say _Don't bother._ He looked at her darkly, but his hand fell to his side.

Harry said, "Look, 'Mione, we just wanted to hang out with you, but now is clearly not a good time…" he said tactfully jutting his chin to Ron who was practically foaming at the mouth. "So, we'll see you around, I guess. Bye," he managed a smile before dragging Ron away.

Hermione stood like a statue, watching them go and once they were out of sight, she spun around. There was no-one there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Hermione didn't see Draco till the next day when they both had Potions together. Their new professor, Perry, had some weird sensitive ear syndrome, but he was almost blind, so passing notes was the safest mode of communication in that class.

_Hey, Draco, I'm so sorry about Ron yesterday. He's always been a bit of a…well, complete moron. _She scribbled on a piece of paper from her bag and passed it to him.

He stared at the paper for a while, before looking at her, and grinning. Grabbing a quill, he scribbled back, _Don't worry about it. Wasn't your fault anyway. I was just pissed that he brought my mother into it._

_Yeah, I wanted to hit him when he said all that stuff. I doubt he even knows what all those words meant._ She wrote back, smiling.

He sniggered. She grinned back, somewhat relieved.

--

"Hermione, you _are_ friends now, aren't you?" asked Ginny excitedly at dinner that evening. "Well, yes, I suppose." Said Hermione wearily, knowing that Ginny was probably going to mention how hot he was or something like that.

But instead, Ginny just asked, "Have you seen that movie XXX?" when Hermione nodded, Ginny squealed, "Isn't Vin Diesel just so HOT in that movie? I just wanna hug him all the time! He's totally like a male Lara Croft, except much, much hotter." She sighed, content in her own little world, which was probably a shrine for Vin Diesel, whom Hermione had to admit, was kind of hot in that movie.

But at the same time, she wondered why Ginny had changed the topic so rapidly. Ginny generally had a longish attention span, especially when it concerned Hermione's love life. _Not_, that she had one at the moment, or was even considering _getting_ one in the near future.

"I admit that Vin Diesel _was_ rather hot in the movie, but isn't he a bit _old_ for you?" asked Hermione. "I've always fancied the older man," said Ginny loftily. "And anyway, did you see those muscles…" she shivered, staring into the distance dreamily.

"Well, if you put it that way…" said Hermione shrugging. So who cared if he was twice Ginny's age at the very least? And those muscles were very sexy. And Hermione wasn't the type to even go for muscles, so this was saying something.

"Yes, his muscles were totally sexy, weren't they? And you're not even the type to go for muscles, are you?" said Ginny. Oops, apparently that sexy muscle line had come out loud.

Just then, Harry cleared his throat loudly, indicating that he was _still_ in the vicinity and could _hear_ Ginny's crazed fangirl ranting about Vin Diesel. Ginny appeared to finally realize that Harry was within hearing range.

"Oh don't mind us, Harry. You know I have eyes for no-one but you." Said Ginny, kissing his cheek.

"Er, no, actually I didn't mean that. I wanted to tell you that Malfoy's standing right behind you." Said Harry awkwardly. Hermione and Ginny froze. And turned pale. And glanced at each other. Hermione started to turn red first. Ginny followed in quick succession. They both turned in their seats, slowly.

And looked up. And saw Draco Malfoy staring at them, his eyes amused, his mouth twisted into a smirk and his hands casually in his pockets. "Hello, Hermione. Weasley." He nodded in Ginny's direction. Ginny, if it was even possible, blushed harder.

_Shit. Shit. SHIT. HE HEARD OUR VIN DIESEL CONVERSATION!! That's it. I am never discussing a man with Ginny ever again. Never ever. EVER._

"If you're wondering how much I heard," he continued smoothly, looking like he was enjoying himself very much. _Shit, is this guy a mind-reader or something_? "I heard… _everything._ But I must ask, who _is_ Vin Diesel? And for that matter, who's Lara Croft? And what's XXX?"

Hermione and Ginny laughed nervously. "Never you mind." Said Hermione, who wished more than anything that the ground would open up and swallow her. Draco grinned. Ginny, who had apparently regained some of her confidence, said, "So, what brings you here?"

Draco looked at her somewhat uncomfortably. "I happen to study here too…"

Ginny rolled her eyes and giggled. "No, I mean what brings you to the Gryffindor table? Did you want to ask Hermione something?" she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Because we're all totally cool with that, you know. I mean, I don't think a Gryffindor has ever gotten together with a Slytherin, so I guess this is a first, but times are changing and—OW! Don't _kick_ me Hermione!"

To make Ginny shut up, Hermione kicked her again, harder. "Er, Hermione, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to study together, in the library?"

Ginny piped up, "You mean like a study _date_?"

Draco turned slightly red, something Hermione had never seen him do before. "No," he scoffed. "I mean like a…thing where you study together. Study group. That's what I meant."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. And blush some more. Ginny, being very perceptive of these boy-girl things, gave a knowing smile and a kick to Hermione's shins to say _GO! _Hermione was going to say yes anyway. "I would love to, Draco." with that, she got up and waved bye to Ginny and Harry and walked off with Draco.

"Sorry about Ginny. She thinks that we should get together, for some weird reason." She rolled her eyes with a grin. He grinned back. "I could tell. So, who is Vin Diesel, seriously?" and he kept pestering her till she told him. "Oh. And Lara Croft?" he asked when she was done.

By the time he was satisfied with the answers provided, they reached the library and sat down with their homework. Well, technically, they were assignments, because they couldn't bring the work _home_, and had to do it in school, but that was besides the point.

They found that they were good study partners because they were good at most subjects, and the subjects one of them wasn't so good at, the other was great at. If that made any sense. For instance, Hermione was good at Ancient Runes and Arithmetic, but she had no patience for Potions, whereas Draco was good at Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts, but loathed Arithmetic, so they could both help each other like that.

And before they knew it, it was midnight. They had been studying for five hours straight. "Wow." Commented Draco. "No wonder I'm hungry." Hermione grinned. "Shall we go to the kitchen?" she asked.

"You read my mind," he smiled. Hermione was startled. She had seen him smirk (a lot) and grin (often) but she couldn't ever recall having seen him smile. He looked so human—not to mention very hot. Not that he wasn't hot when he smirked and grinned, but when he smiled he was hot in a whole different way.

"Hellooo? Granger? Anyone home?" Draco was waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"

"You zoned out." He stated. "Oh. Sorry. I was a million miles away." She apologized. He smirked. "I could tell."

"Okay, shall we?" she gestured in the direction of the doors. He grinned and stood up. She followed suit once she was done collecting her stuff. Just as she was stepping away from her chair, though, being the clumsy idiot she was, she tripped on a chair leg and prepared to fall flat on her face, her eyes squeezed shut. But the fall never came.

She became aware of two warm arms wrapped around her waist, protecting her from falling and she cautiously opened her eyes. Draco pulled her upright and she stumbled slightly, and turned, only to find herself at eye level with his shoulders. He was barely an inch away from her and she looked up to see him looking down at her, his expression almost unreadable. There was a brief moment of electricity which Hermione couldn't explain, before Draco hastily stepped away and grinned. "You're welcome."

She blushed. "Thanks. Merlin, I'm such a klutz."

"I believe you." He said, with a smirk. "Shut up." She said, but she smiled, unable to shake a strange feeling she was getting, a tingling of sorts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They walked to the portrait of the fruit, chatting about absolutely everything. Once there, Draco did the honors of tickling the pear, and they entered the kitchen.

A house elf greeted them immediately and asked what they would like. "I want a hot chocolate with coffee in it. And caramel. And cinnamon. And whipped cream." Said Draco after a moment. Hermione looked at him in horror. "You want chocolate with coffee?

He looked amused. "Yes…" she shrugged and asked for a cappuccino. The house elf nodded and trotted off. They both sat down side by side.

Soon enough, the house elf returned with their drinks and Hermione couldn't help but stare at Draco's in awe. It sounded disgusting when he asked for it, but it looked absolutely amazing. He smirked at her awed expression and asked, "Do you want some?" referring to the chocolate/coffee thing. She shook her head with a grin. "No thanks."

"Oh just take it, would you?" he asked with a teasing smile. "You know you want it." How could she resist? She took the mug and had a tiny sip. Her pupils dilated. He chuckled.

She handed back the cup and said "Thanks," he smirked. "You're on the biggest sugar rush of your life, aren't you?" after a moment, she nodded.

They looked at each other for a moment and started laughing at the stupidity of the whole thing. With that, they continued talking and exchanging drinks (it turned out Draco had never tried a cappuccino and liked it very much). Hermione had never had a friend like Draco. He was so easy to talk to, and always so fun to be around. She could talk to him about things she could never talk about with Ron or Harry even though she'd known Ron and Harry longer.

If she didn't know any better, she'd think she had a minor crush on Draco. But she _did_ know better, and that notion was unbelievably ridiculous. Absolutely stupid.

--

"Hey Draco. What's up?" asked Blaise Zabini, Draco's best friend, a few weeks later seeing him reading in the library. Draco glanced up. "Hey. Nothing. You?"

Blaise had clearly wanted Draco to ask that question, because he sat down, looking excited and began to animatedly talk, "Okay, so there's this girl. She's from Ravenclaw." Blaise's way of telling Draco that he had a new girlfriend always began like this. Telling him that there was a girl, and which house she was from. Details came after. "She is so hot, man, I am telling you. Her name's Maxine. Max. And she is _hot_."

"I think you mentioned that already, Blaise." Said Draco, amused yet somewhat interested. Blaise was never so happy when he announced he had a girlfriend. And normally, his first sentence after telling him which house she was from was something like: "She wants me bad, I can tell". Or: "She couldn't keep her hands off me".

"But there's one problem." Said Blaise. There were never any problems in Blaise's girlfriends or his relationships. They were usually flawless, until Blaise got bored or found someone else. It was the same with Draco. Generally a relationship lasted maybe three weeks. Two months was the record that Draco had achieved with this Asian girl around two years ago. "What problem?" asked Draco.

Blaise paused theatrically and sighed in a way that would put many an actor to shame. "She hates my guts."

Draco looked scandalized, and justifiably so. Who could hate either him or Blaise? All women _loved _them. _Even_ Gryffindor women. He conveniently didn't think about Hermione at that moment. "HOW CAN SHE HATE YOUR GUTS, MAN?" exclaimed Draco.

"I know. It's terrible. The only girl _ever_ who rejected me." He sniffed, wounded.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get her. The day you _can't_ get a girl will be the day I decide to become a Death Eater."

"Never?" suggested Blaise. Draco nodded. "Never."

"But _how can I get her to like me_?" asked Blaise. Draco shrugged, helpless. He'd never had this problem before. Just then, Hermione walked past, and smiled and waved at them, seeing that they were clearly having a guy moment and choosing not to intrude. She was wondering why Blaise had such an anguished expression on his face. They had been good friends for a while now, and she hoped it wasn't anything serious.

But Blaise cried, "HERMIONE! WAIT! SIT DOWN!" she spun around in surprise and the librarian hissed for Blaise to shut up.

"What is it?" whispered Hermione sliding into the chair next to Draco.

"I need help." Said Blaise. "There's this girl, Maxine, and I like her, but she hates me. She's from Ravenclaw."

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Hermione, not knowing why he had asked her for help. "I want to get her to like me." Said Blaise as though it were obvious. "Duh."

"Uh huh. And I factor in here…how?" asked Hermione.

"You're a girl. You can tell me how to win her heart right? Cos you know girl stuff. Draco's absolutely useless at that."

"I wonder why…" muttered Draco. Hermione couldn't help but giggle. "Okay, well, first you have to tell me what she looks like."

"Okay… she has long black hair, right down to her totally hot ass which, when you see it, you just want to—" Hermione cut him off before he could say anything that permanently traumatized her. "Wait, stop. Just give me a basic physical description. I don't need to know about her other…uh…assets."

"Oh." Blaise looked put out. "Okay, tanned skin, really slim but not skinny, green eyes."

"So…she likes sports?" asked Hermione. "I don't know." Said Blaise. "I didn't ask her about her hobbies. I asked her out so she could tell me about her hobbies." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, do you know what she does in her spare time?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I'm not her crazy stalker! Merlin, you're almost as bad as Draco. Go somewhere else and be…men together." Said Blaise.

Hermione scowled. "Girls, such as myself, like it when guys know their hobbies. So…go ask her about them. Show her you're interested. You have to—"

"You like to read." Said Draco, suddenly. Hermione was surprised, and covered by scoffing, "A monkey could tell me that."

"You like History books."

"Uhh…so?"

"You like books about the history of Dark Arts."

"Are you stalking me or something?" asked Hermione, blushing.

"Don't flatter yourself. I happen to frequent the same shelves in the library as you do." He scoffed, turning slightly red too.

There was an awkward pause. "So," Blaise started again. "Her boobs are so…" This time, both Hermione and Draco told him to please stop for their sanity's sake.

"So, just be nice, be sweet, show interest in her hobbies and before you know it, she'll agree to go out with you. Just don't pressure her to go out with you. That can be annoying." Said Hermione.

"You seem awfully experienced." Said Draco, raising an eyebrow and smirking. She turned bright red, for some reason. "Viktor Krum, remember?"

Both Blaise and Draco exchanged knowing sniggers. "How could we forget that Durmstrang dolt?" asked Blaise.

"Nice alliteration." Said Draco. Blaise grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes. There was a pause. "Go on." Said Hermione to Blaise. "What're you waiting for?"

"Are you sure it'll work?" asked Blaise uncertainly. "Of course. Just don't flirt shamelessly. You're not trying to have mad monkey sex with her, you're just trying to be her friend." Hermione said reassuringly. Draco sniggered.

"But I am trying to have mad monkey sex with her." Protested Blaise.

"Not right now you're not." Said Hermione firmly.

"Wow. I've never had a girl space friend before." Said Blaise in awe.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Other than you." He added hastily. Hermione narrowed her eyes. Blaise ran. Draco grinned.

Hermione was still slightly startled, and flattered that Draco knew her reading preferences.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It was Charms. But Flitwick was in a bad mood, so it was a theory lesson rather than a practical. Hermione sat next to Draco, and doodled absentmindedly on her parchment.

Just then, she saw Draco draw a stick figure of Flitwick on his paper. It looked nothing _like_ Flitwick, but an arrow pointing to it said Flitwick, so she figured it must be Flitwick. Uh. Yeah.

_That looks nothing like Flitwick._ She wrote on her paper and turned it towards him to see.

He grinned and wrote on his own paper, _It's labeled, so it doesn't have to look like him_.

She almost laughed out loud. He smiled and continued doodling. Hermione reached over his arm and drew a mini-explosion coming out of his head. Draco chuckled softly. Then they both appeared to realize how close together they were seated and Hermione hastily withdrew her arm.

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, is there something you wish to say?" snapped Flitwick irritably.

They both blushed and shook their heads.

_Sorry,_ she wrote once his gaze had been diverted. _That was my fault._

_Are you kidding? It could've happened to anyone. Don't apologize. Flitwick's just in a bad mood. _

_Thanks,_ she wrote back. He grinned at her. Her stomach, for some reason, twisted itself into a knot when he grinned. She shook away the feeling. Maybe she was sick…

_--_

Once they were outside class, they were talking about the lesson (absolutely boring), when a particularly nasty Slytherin, Marcus, walked past and asked, smirking—though he didn't look nearly as hot as Draco when he did it—"Going to have a nice romp with the mudblood in the broom closet, Draco?"

Draco clenched his fists and turned to face the other guy. He whipped out his wand and pointed it towards him. "What, you gonna hex me?" sneered the Slytherin.

But despite his cool expression, his hands were hovering over his own wand, and he was stepping back. Draco was one of the most powerful wizards-in-training in Hogwarts, and everyone knew it.

"You may as well _be_ a mudblood, roaming around with that bitch like that." Marcus jerked his head towards Hermione, who gazed back at him levelly.

Draco didn't even use his wand. He put it back and Marcus looked somewhat relieved, that is, until Draco walked up to him and punched him in the nose. Hard.

Hermione heard a loud crack, probably Marcus's broken nose. She knew she should intervene, but she was so shocked. She had not expected Draco, of all people, to stick up for her like that.

It was so sweet.

Marcus, however, did not seem to think it was at all sweet, and was now on the floor, moaning and covering his bloodied nose. Just then, Flitwick came out of his office and stared, his jaw dropped. Two Slytherins, and a Gryffindor? A Gryffindor half-blood none the less?

"Professor Dumbledore's office. NOW." He ordered both Hermione and Draco. "You. Go to the hospital wing, immediately." Marcus nodded and limped off. The limp was completely fake though, just meant to garner sympathy.

--

Outside Dumbledore's office…

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Said Hermione quietly. They had been silent the whole way to Dumbledore's office, mainly because Flitwick was escorting them, to make sure they didn't escape or anything. But he had clearly not considered that when he left them alone to go and talk to Dumbledore.

"What?" asked Draco, absently.

"Tonnes of people have called me mudblood before." She said, tactfully not mentioning that Draco had been one of them.

He shrugged. She continued, "But no-one's ever stood up for me like that before." He looked up at her. And then, she did something stupid. She hugged him. Just threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, and whispered "Thank you," in his ear.

He was very surprised, so he didn't return the hug at first, and she worried if he was pissed at her or something. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. "Any day, 'Mione." He said back.

Finally, she pulled away and saw that he was very red. Then she saw the back of his hand. Noticing her gaze, he shoved it in his pocket hastily and winced. "Let me see that," she said, and gently took his hand. He had split his knuckles. "Oh god, are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded quickly. "I'm fine, 'Mione. It's nothing, just a scrape."

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's law. You broke his nose, you must have gotten hurt in the process." She said, aware that she was babbling. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that!" she said, blushing.

"Why?" he asked, smirking. "You're looking at me like I'm a lunatic!" she lied. She didn't want him to look at her like that because she just wanted to kiss him when he did.

Wait. _What?_ That wasn't it. No.

"Oh, and you aren't?" he teased, grinning. She rolled her eyes and smiled, shoving away the thought she'd just had a moment ago and pulling out her wand. She uttered the spell, and his knuckles healed immediately.

"Thanks," he murmured, flexing his fingers. She smiled. "Don't mention it."

Flitwick walked out, and said, "You're both dismissed. And…er, Professor Dumbledore told me to give you this." He handed them each a lemon drop. And one scrap of parchment for the both of them.

They glanced at each other. Flitwick stalked off. Hermione opened the note and read it out:

_Dear children,  
Professor Flitwick tells me there was a little incident outside his class, involving a certain Marcus Dunst from Slytherin. However, since his injuries were minor, I have decided to let you off with just a warning. Please don't make this a habit; I think Professor Flitwick is already growing tired of me. Please also excuse me for not inviting you in; I had much work to attend to. Whatever the case, enjoy your lemon drops!  
Professor D._

"Wow. He's nice." said Draco, once Hermione was done. "You're telling me." Responded Hermione.

Draco grinned, and Hermione felt her stomach twisting itself into a knot for some reason. She ignored it and smiled back.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey peeps! Thank you all so much for all the reviews and I apologize for this chapter as I was pretty distracted while writing it, as I have _henna_ all over my left hand and I haven't removed the hardened stuff yet, so it's kinda hard to write… anyways, enjoy!!

**Chapter 9**

Soon enough, the holidays came, and Hermione and Draco and the majority of students began to pack their bags to go home and visit their families. There was a buzz of excitement as everyone talked about how great it would be to meet their parents and siblings again. Hermione was one of them.

Draco, however, was gloomy.

"What's wrong Draco?" asked Hermione, seeing him in the library one day, looking depressed.

"Nothing." He replied immediately. She gave him a look and was comfortable enough around him to say "I know you well enough to know something's wrong."

He sighed. "I'm not exactly looking forward to going home. My parents are forcing me, even though they don't really want me around. My father wants it to look like we're some united, bonded family so his political status as a 'family person' will increase, even though the whole wizarding world knows that's not true.

"So he's forcing me to go home and they're going to force me to behave like the perfect son so they can look like the perfect parents.

"And they're going to drag me along to all sorts of family events all over Europe. Do you know how _big_ the Malfoy family is? And since they hate most of our relatives, they'll be talking bad about them behind their backs.

"And father's going to force me to become a Death Eater. Well, _try_ to force me, anyway."

Wow. Draco wasn't the type to share all his problems like that. He was more the strong-and-silent ones, so this had to be bothering him a lot. "Oh." She said, unable to think of anything else to say.

He gave a bitter laugh. "Yep, 'Oh' pretty much summarizes my life at the moment." Shaking off his thoughts for the moment, he asked, "What about you? What are your plans?"

_Shit. How can I say this without sounding braggy, or like I'm rubbing it in his face_? Thought Hermione. "Well…" apparently reading her thoughts, he grinned and said, "Just tell me, Granger, without bothering how it sounds." She blushed. "My dad is going to be there two weeks or so. We'll hang out, go to the movies, stuff like that. Then he's leaving for two weeks to go to the USA for some job convention, so I'll have the house to myself and come back to school on my own."

He didn't appear envious or anything. "Sounds like fun." He said. She smiled, unsure of how to respond.

"Wait, don't tell me you're…feeling _sorry_ for me?" he asked incredulously. She hunched a shoulder, turning red. He laughed. "That's nice of you, 'Mione, but really, I'll be okay!" he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a half-hug.

Her stomach somersaulted, and she decided she was sick.

"By the way, what about your mom?" he asked without thinking, then mentally cursed himself. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me—"

She smiled. "No, don't worry about it. My mom died a few years back. Car accident."

"Oh," he stammered. "I'm so sorry." She shook her head, and changed the subject.

--

Hermione and Draco sat in different compartments of the train with their friends for the whole journey. Not by their choice, but because their friends had insisted. So, in Hermione's opinion, it was fun, but fairly unmemorable.

Once at the train station when everyone went their separate ways, Hermione looked around for Draco, whom she hadn't gotten a chance to say bye to yet. She hoped she wouldn't have to leave without it. Just then, she saw him. He appeared to be looking for her too.

Without thinking she dropped her bags and hugged him. "Bye Draco,"

He hugged back. "Bye Hermione. Wish me luck."

Again, without thinking (she tended to do that a lot around him), she reached up and kissed his cheek. It was so nice, she literally had to force herself to pull away. His face had turned bright red, and she felt herself flaming up too. _Shit, why the hell did I do that? _"Good luck," she said in a second. She turned and started walking away, pausing just for a second to turn around and wave bye. She saw him standing there, his hand lightly touching the side of his face where she had kissed him as if he were in shock.

--

"Hi dad!" said Hermione, hugging her father the minute she saw him, and tried to ignore the thin blonde lady standing very close to her dad.

"Hermione, sweetheart, how are you?" asked her dad. The blonde cleared her throat. "Oh, Lindsey, this is my daughter, Hermione. Hermione, this is my girlfriend, Lindsey."

Hermione's ears filled with a buzzing sound. _Girlfriend_?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"G-g-girlfriend?" stammered Hermione. Lindsey gave her an almost-pitying look, as in, _You're retarded? Aww, how sad for you…_ Hermione took an instant dislike to her.

"Yes!" boomed her dad, happy. Hermione instantly felt miserable. She gave an internal sigh and thought, _I love my dad, and I want him to be happy, and if Lindsey makes him happy, well, so be it, I guess._

But _really_. Of all the women… he chose _Lindsey_? _Well, who am I to pass judgment? I've never had a girlfriend…_

--

Being home felt good, despite Lindsey. Even though she didn't get much time with her dad because he was with Lindsey a lot of the time, she had missed her room.

Despite the fact that Lindsey had redecorated it, and painted her rooms some disgusting shade of cobalt or something, to make it "ultrachic and feminine" and gotten rid of her old bed and replaced it with a new, somewhat harder one that was supposedly good for your posture or something…

Hermione sighed. Honestly, it didn't look at all like her room. But still.

At least Lindsey hadn't gotten to the teddy bear her mother had given her. It was the last present she got before…well, before the accident.

She found her optimism revolting, and she knew Draco would too. He would encourage her to whine and bitch more.

But Draco wasn't here, and life without him was supremely dull. As horrible as she felt for thinking it, she couldn't wait to get back to school.

Oh, and Lindsey was constantly after Hermione about eating nothing but tofu and spinach. "You have to lose at _least_ ten pounds!!!" was Lindsey's first response when she found out Hermione was a size four.

Even though Hermione was reasonably sure four was normal-ish.

"You _have_ to get down to a one, at the very _least_. You know if you want I could get your dad to pay for lipo."

What bothered Hermione most was that Lindsey was this ubiquitous figure in the house. And she spent most nights there too.

While this was perfectly normal and healthy for two adults, it still bothered Hermione that her father had gotten over her mother's death so fast. Well, it had been a while, but Hermione hadn't gotten over it yet.

So how could he? It made no sense.

"Like, _Hermione_," said Lindsey, coming into her room and spitting out her name like it was a vulgarity. "I think we need to have a talk. Woman on woman, you know?"

"Er, no, not really." Answered Hermione, rolling her eyes inwardly. Lindsey ignored that and sat down on Hermione's bed. "See, it's about…_boys_."

She squealed the last word as if she were an overly hormonal thirteen-year old and expected Hermione to flush red and giggle at the mere word.

"Uh. Okay?" ventured Hermione, before realizing that Lindsey had acquired the skill Hermione had been fruitlessly attempting to learn for her whole life, the skill to close off your ears to everyone else.

"So, do you like, have a BF?"

"A BF? Are you talking about a Best Friend or a Boyfriend?"

"DUH. _BOYFRIEND!_" _Insert another squeal._

"At the moment, no." said Hermione, seriously weirded out. What was _with _this lady? "BUT WHY?" asked, well, _shrieked_ Lindsey.

_How does one even answer a question like that? Oh, yes, I am so physically unappealing that no boy would ever think about dating me. Or perhaps: I don't really go for women, you know_. _Hah! Let's see Lindsey respond to _that.

Of course, Hermione didn't say any of this. Instead she shrugged. This proved sufficient for Lindsey. "Well, we'll find you one, don't fret, sweetheart." _Don't _call me _sweetheart_. Thought Hermione viciously.

"I don't _want_ a boyfriend," she said, polite and icy at the same time.

"Oh don't be silly, of course you do," said Lindsey dismissively flapping a hand.

"_No_, I don't." said Hermione more firm than polite now. Lindsey looked at her, intrigued and Hermione thought she might have seen a tiny glimmer of intelligence in her eyes then.

"Are you a lesbian?" asked Lindsey bluntly. Glimmer of intelligence: nil. Hermione sighed and walked out of her room.

--

"Son, you must join the Dark side, instantly!" pressed Lucius Malfoy the moment they had gotten home and into Lucius' private office. "Think of what you are doing to the Malfoy name!"

"Father, I refuse to join." Said Draco.

"But _why_?" demanded Lucius desperately. "I can hardly show my face in public now because of you! Think of the stares I get! It is perfectly fine for you in your safe little _school_, but this is the real world! Stop being so naïve, boy, and do the intelligent thing!"

"I refuse to join, Father, because it goes against every fiber in my moral being, and the intelligent choice would be not to join."

"_Moral being?_" spluttered Lucius. "What happened to you? Are you quite possessed?" he yelled, furious. "The next thing I know you'll be fraternizing with a Gryffindor _mudblood_!"

Draco didn't answer and instead continued to watch Lucius' outburst calmly. This worried Lucius. "My God, boy, you have befriended the Gryffindors, haven't you!?"

Draco crossed his arms. "_Answer me!"_ yelled Lucius.

Draco didn't, and Lucius stood from his chair and walked over to him and hissed, "_Answer me." _His voice was now dangerously low. Draco merely looked up at him.

Then, without warning, Lucius raised his hand high above his head, and struck Draco. Hard. The impact was massive, but Draco stood his ground. His head throbbed and he could feel blood in his mouth.

Lucius turned on his heel and strode back to his chair. He began to do his work. Draco took this as a dismissal. Right before he left, he turned around one last time and saw Lucius staring at him, his wand raised.

Catching Draco's eye, he said, quietly, "Crucio."

--


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Of course, Lucius didn't hold the spell for more than five minutes, during which he relished the look of agony on his son's face, as he clutched the doorframe and struggled to remain upright, his other hand clenched tight and fingernails digging into his palm. He made no sound.

When Lucius finally uttered the counter curse and Draco somehow managed to exit the office. Lucius smirked. _Now he'll join. I know it._

Draco, however, was thinking the exact opposite: _does he think _that's_ going to make me join? _Fear_? Ridiculous. _He thought scornfully. The expression caused a sharp pang of pain in his head, but he knew—from experience—that that was normal.

The pain didn't completely go till a few days later. Till then, sudden movements could trigger pain. Mostly in his head. Well, actually always in his head.

He sighed and walked to his room, loathing his father more and more with each step.

--

"Lindsey, let's _go_." Said Hermione's father for the billionth time. They were going out on a date and Lindsey kept doing and redoing her eyeshadow, so she was taking very long to get ready.

"Com-_ming!_" said Lindsey, tottering into the room in six inch spikes and fixing on a giant silver hoop earring, looking like a complete street whore. Or maybe that was just Hermione's opinion, since her dad's eyes softened, and her smiled and pulled her to him for a kiss. Oh, and a kiss they had… sucking each other's faces off…and in front of the _children_ no less. Well, Hermione was not a child, but _still_. There was too much tongue action for her preference.

When they didn't stop kissing after a whole minute of feeling each other up and down, _everywhere_, Hermione cleared her throat. Her dad pulled away and turned umber. Rightfully so. Hermione shot him a look. He ignored it and said bye. Lindsey did too and they left.

Hermione sighed and surveyed the increasingly empty house.

--

Narcissa flew into Draco's room. She looked at him in brief intrigue—he was sitting in a corner of his large room, knees hugged to his chest, his headache persisting—and for a moment he thought she might act like a mother and ask him what had happened and perhaps even give him a hug.

No such luck.

"Draco, you have to get ready to go to the Wilchester's. Well? Get on with it." She said crisply. She looked stunning in a dark blue gown that hugged her waist and reached her ankles. Perfect evening gown, topped with matching sapphire jewelry. Her hair was coiled to perfection.

Draco sighed inwardly and stood up gracefully. His mother looked at him for a while. Then she walked out, murmuring, "Get ready."

Draco got some belated survival instinct and did as he was told.

--

She sat alone in her room and stared at the (disgusting) sage green wall. She missed Draco. _There, I admitted it. _She thought, triumphant, until she realized that she really missed him and wanted to go back to school now more than ever.

Then her common sense kicked in. _Don't be stupid. What're you going to do when you leave Hogwarts forever? Get used to it. _

But she knew that she didn't really miss school because of _school_, if that made any sense. She missed it because of Draco. She missed the fun she was always guaranteed to have around him. She missed his grin, his smile, even his I'm-so-much-better-than-you smirk. God she missed that smirk.

_What are you thinking? _She thought suddenly. _You're not supposed to be thinking these things! I never missed Harry's smile or whatever! And he's one of my closest friends! This is not right. What's wrong with you??? _Aaagh, this was maddening.

She stalked down to the living room and parked herself in front of the TV. She flipped through the channels. Drama, drama, drama!!! Why were there so many dramas on TV? She flipped to the channel that would never fail her: the History channel. But even that was showing some show about the Holocaust which she'd seen about twenty times already!

She groaned. _"Stupid, stupid, stupid._" She muttered, pulling out the rack of DVDs her dad kept under the TV table.

XXX. Oh God. The mere _thought _of that movie made her want to shrivel up and die. DIE. _Legally Blonde??_ Why did they even _have_ that? Maybe Lindsey got it. Hermione rolled her eyes.

_The Silence of the Lambs._ Hmm, that seemed like an intelligent movie. She put the disc in the player and hit play, nestling down to watch.

--

This was positively dull. Standing quietly behind his father as he greeted everyone—_everyone_—at the party as though they were his best friends, when in fact he hated them. _Hated them_. Very seldom did any of his father's 'friends' acknowledge Draco's existence and in fact, Draco preferred it like that since most of them were dull, bordering on the obscene. Most, anyway.

Just then, a 'close' Malfoy family 'friend' came along. "Lucius! Darling! Lovely to see you again! Narcissa, you look positively delectable in that gown!" said Ilana Pands, wife of Emile. She was a portly and stout woman.

She had a head full of thick red curls and looked particularly hideous in a sleeveless shiny sequined black _feathery _dress. She looked like a cross between an elephant and an ostrich and everyone hated her because she didn't have the 'blue blood personality' that was expected of her.

She was blunt, and witty and had very developed and unique opinions about things, which she never hesitated to voice, despite the other parties' obvious disinterest. She could carry out intelligent and lengthy conversations about topics which were considered inappropriate in blue blood society.

Draco liked her. She never ignored him and treated him like an equal, even though Narcissa and Lucius loathed her. But she was rich and her husband, the rather meek Emile had a high post in the ministry and was well respected by everyone, despite his quiet manner.

"Draco, how are you. Dearie?" she asked with a smile reserved for people she liked. "I'm well, Mrs. Pands, and yourself?" he asked politely, because his father was there. Soon his parents would excuse themselves and Draco could behave normally.

"Oh shut up with all the 'Mrs. Pands' garbage. _Ilana's _the name." she snapped good-naturedly. Lucius scowled. Narcissa made up some excuse about needing some air, and Lucius followed her, always the 'loving' husband.

"So? How is everything?' Ilana asked again.

"Pretty sucky." He said with a grin. She smirked. "With parents like that? I'm not surprised." He nodded in agreement with a scowl in the direction they'd just left.

"You know, if you ever need any help for anything…or if things get bad at home…you know you always have a place at my home." She whispered conspiratorially.

"Thanks." He smiled sincerely. "I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded. Then she heard someone call her name and said bye to Draco before departing.

Draco knew she was a powerful ally to have, and more than that, she was like a mother to him.

--

Hermione stared at the screen in horror, her mouth hanging open as she watched Hannibal eat the guard in the movie. "Awesome…" she murmured under her breath. She was all for cannibalism. Not that she wanted to try it of course, but she didn't discriminate against it.

She couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at those people who squealed, "IWW, GROSS!" at the mention of the word 'cannibal'. In some societies cannibalism was perfectly acceptable. Who's to say that the society they live in is the better one?

Anyways, she was missing her movie.

Soon, when she could no longer take it, she went into her room and got a calendar, and that was when she started checking off the number of days before she could go back to school.

Or more accurately, the number of days before she saw Draco.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Finally—_finally—_the holidays ended. Hermione felt terrible for it, but she couldn't help but want to go back to school (to Draco)! She was so eager she had tossed and turned in bed the whole night before she left.

And she wound up packing about a week in advance, which led to her having to live out of a suitcase for that time.

Not that she really minded, of course.

--

At the train station…

Hermione hugged her dad goodbye and waved to Lindsey, who was looking at some incredibly muscled (probably on steroids) guy nearby. This worked for Hermione, as Lindsey didn't know about the magic thing and the distraction provided Hermione the perfect opportunity to run through the wall to platform 9 ¾ unnoticed.

She loved the instant change of atmosphere. Owls and wands and cats were visible wherever she looked. It was a welcome change, to be sure.

She looked around for the place where she could dump her bags to later be put in the train. And, also, for Draco. He didn't appear to be anywhere. She did see Parvati and Padma and waved to the both of them. They waved back but they didn't have time to chat. They appeared to be rushing.

Dropping her bags, she began to head towards the doors. Maybe she'd meet Draco in school. She thought disappointedly.

"Morning, Granger," said a voice appearing at her side. She spun to face him. "Draco!" without thinking, she hugged him. _He smells nice._ she thought dreamily, then pulled away hastily.

He was kind of red in the face, but he nevertheless grinned. "Nice to see you too." he said, sounding vaguely amused.

"How were your holidays?" she asked.

He didn't respond, but instead looked away. "Come on, we should get on the train before it leaves without us."

She was surprised, but decided not to press the matter. _If he doesn't want to tell me, I can't force him to, nor do I want to. It's his choice, after all. _But she couldn't help but feel sad that he didn't trust her enough to tell him.

They managed to find an empty compartment and sat down across each other. "My holidays sucked." He said suddenly, answering her question.

"What happened?" she asked, concerned. "Your dad?"

He nodded glumly. "I couldn't wait to get back to school." She felt sorry for him but couldn't help but be slightly thrilled as well. "Me either." She agreed.

Draco had already decided to not tell Hermione about the Crucio thing because it would sound too whiny and as though he were begging for sympathy. And it wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he just wasn't the 'share-your-problems' and 'group-hug' type. He trusted Hermione more than anyone. Well, Blaise too.

"So why'd your hols suck?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I barely saw my dad. He's got this girlfriend, Lindsey, and she's with him _all_ the time. I wouldn't even mind if she were nice, but she hates everyone that's not into the same things as her. That would be me. Anyways, she's more plastic than human." She rolled her eyes.

Lindsey had probably been sleeping with a plastic surgeon for a certain period of time, because there was no way she could afford all the surgeries she had had.

Draco asked curiously, "What do you mean, more plastic than human?" thankfully, he knew _what_ plastic was, but Hermione was hardly happy about the fact that she had to explain the concept of breast/butt implants to him. A-w-w-w-k-ward.

"O-o-oh." He said when she'd explained, sounding like a child who'd just lost his innocence. Hermione sighed inwardly and shoved away the urge to hug him.

--

Classes resumed as per normal, and Hermione felt at home, strange as that was. Things were going well and everyone was studying like mad for the exams—well, except for Ron. He didn't really seem to care. Hermione was concerned and tried to help him, but he rolled his eyes at her.

He seemed to think that he could do anything he wanted with his "irresistible charm".

Cough-yeah right-cough.

Well, he hadn't really seemed to care about their friendship lately and Hermione wondered why she even bothered trying to convince him to study for his exams. It was _his _life, after all. He could mess it up if he wanted.

Hermione, on the other hand, had a plan all worked out. She wanted to be an auror and had already worked out what she'd have to do after Hogwarts and how many years she'd have to train to do that.

Draco, however, wanted to be an Unspeakable. And part of the reason why he'd decided that was that Unspeakables worked very close to the government. By becoming one, he would succeed in defying and thus infuriating his father, something which gave Draco great joy.

But this was only part of the reason. It wasn't like his whole purpose of life was to piss off his father. Making him mad was just a bonus.

"Hey, 'Mione, you have Defense Against the Dark Arts next too, right?" asked Draco, seeing Hermione in the halls after class one day (just in case you were wondering, they were in different classes)

"Hey, yeah. Wanna go together?" she asked.

He smiled. "You read my mind." Hermione had to prevent herself from swooning and made herself smile back.

"Have you finished your essay?" he asked, referring to the DADA homework. She gave him a look that said, _whaddya think?_ Of course she'd finished her essay. She always did.

"Right. Goody two-shoes Gryffindor. I'd forgotten for about two seconds." He smirked. "Shut up." She told him, but she couldn't help but grin.

--

"Today, we will be learning about protection spells from…" the teacher's voice dimmed to a buzz in the back of Draco's head. He always zoned out like this, especially when the stuff being taught was stuff he already knew about.

And protection spells were easy, anyway. A monkey could do it. He started to doodle absentmindedly on the parchment he was supposed to be taking notes on.

Hermione was sitting next to him, right next to the window. She appeared to be as bored as he was. She was playing with a lock of her chestnut brown hair and gazing out at the sky. Just then, a gust of cool wind blew in through the window and he caught a whiff of her hair.

_It smells nice._ he thought before castigating himself for the thought. _Friends. We're friends. That's _all._ Got it?_ He rolled his eyes inwardly and continued doodling.

"Mr. Malfoy, what is the counter spell for the Plutinia hex?" snapped the teacher suddenly. Draco gave him the answer instantly, because it was obvious. The teacher was momentarily silenced. He was sure that that kid hadn't been paying attention. _Oh well… _"Er, well done."

Draco, smirking, returned to his doodling. Hermione shot him a grin. He returned it.

_We're friends. FRIENDS Nothing more._ At least, that's what he kept trying to convince himself.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Hermione saw Ginny in the common room one day. "Hey Gin." She said, with a smile.

"Hey, 'Mione! How's it going?" asked Ginny, always happy to see a friend.

"Er, pretty okay, I s'pose."

"I meant with Draco." said Ginny. Seeing Hermione's blank look, she added with some asperity, "Draco Malfoy? You know, the one you've been crushing on for ages?" Hermione rolled her eyes after a moment of self-pity. But Ginny could be very perceptive at times. "HAH! I saw that! That flash!"

"What flash?"

"The 'I'm in love with Draco Malfoy so bad but I'm the strong and silent type so I'll not tell anyone about' flash." Said Ginny deprecatingly.

"Shut up." Said Hermione, then paused. "Okay, what the hell. YES. Alright? I'm completely head-over-heels in love with Draco Malfoy and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. You were right and I was wrong. Happy?"

Ginny was silent. Then she let out a squeal that Hermione imagined only dogs could hear. "I KNEW IT!" she announced triumphantly.

"_Ow."_ Was Hermione's response to the squeal. She rubbed her ears. "God, Gin, burst my eardrums, why don't you?"

"Sorry." Apologized Ginny in a temporary moment of sanity, soon to be replaced by girlish squealiness again. "But you really love him?! That is so amazing and romantic. Totally Romeo-and-Juliet-esque." She sighed.

_Romeo-and-Juliet-esque? What the hell does that mean?_ She asked as much. And Ginny replied with a somewhat impatient, "Oh, you know." Dismissive, too.

But she had caught Hermione's attention. "No, I don't. Tell me."

"You're like star-crossed lovers. I mean, you can't be together but you still want to, no matter what everyone says because you're so in love."

Hermione snorted. Ginny looked affronted. "What?"

"Well, it's just that I'm _pretty_ sure Romeo loved Juliet too. But that's just me."

"Oh shut up and don't be so stupid. Of course Romeo loved Juliet. That's why they had sex." Said Ginny plainly. Hermione almost choked on her own spit.

"Ginny, I'm pretty sure they didn't have sex. I mean, isn't that just rumors and stuff?" said Hermione, trying to maintain her calm. "And anyway, I thought it was inappropriate to have sex before marriage back then. And even if they did, why didn't she get pregnant? I mean, it's not like they had much protection in the 1600s. I think." _Well, how was she supposed to know the various contraceptive methods available four centuries ago?_

"It's a matter of interpretation, love." Said Ginny somewhat superciliously.

"O-o-okay." Hermione knew by now that it was pointless to try to argue with Ginny while she was on one of her flights of fancy. "And, getting back to the point, if Romeo loved Juliet, I really don't see how you can compare Draco and I to them, because, obvious personality differences aside, Draco doesn't love me." She continued.

Ginny looked crestfallen. "You don't honestly think he doesn't like you do you? Because he does. A lot. You just don't see it."

"Oh and you do?" asked Hermione, unable to keep just a trace of scorn from her voice. Didn't Ginny think she had thought about this before? She had wondered a _lot_ whether or not Draco liked her and had concluded that he didn't. Except as friends, of course.

"_Yes_, Hermione. You're just blind to it. Everyone else can see it. It's as plain as day, or the nose on your face. Dammit, why won't you just listen to me?"

"Ginny…" she started, then changed tactic. "Okay, fine. He likes me. Now what do you want me to do about it?"

Ginny looked at her like she had grown horns all of a sudden. "What do you mean, what should you do about it? Isn't it obvious?"

"Clearly not."

"GET TOGETHER WITH HIM, IDIOT!"

"_How?_ Just go up to him and say, 'Hey, Draco, let's get together cos I've secretly had this huge crush on you since forever, and even though you probably don't like me back, my friend Ginny says I should just come up to you and confess everything'?"

"I thought you'd agreed that he likes you too?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You gonna help me or what, Ginny?"

"Okay, okay, um, I've never had to do this myself, so I'm not exactly the specialist in this field, but I am the love guru." Hermione gaped. _Love guru?_ "So I'll advise you to the best of my ability."

"Much appreciated." Managed Hermione.

"Good. Now, you should…hmm, let's see… okay, try this. FLIRT."

"_What_?" asked Hermione, blank.

"You've never flirted, have you." Said Ginny, more as a statement than a question. She sighed and muttered, "We've got a long way to go."

"Well, no. I don't flirt." Replied Hermione, ignoring her last statement.

"Okay, try it! Then he'll realize that you like him too, and then he'll get together with you!"

"Er…"

"So, just absentmindedly play with your hair, or perhaps twist a particular lock constantly. That always looks hot."

"Um, I do that all the time..."

"You do? Good! Now do it in like overdrive. And bat your eyes a lot."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Knowing Draco, he'll probably ask if I've got something stuck in my eye."

Ginny asked, "Really? So he's that type…" she sounded thoughtful. "Hmm."

"What?"

"Well, I'm just thinking… if Draco likes you for you, then maybe you shouldn't really do anything different. I mean, he likes the normal Hermione. Not anyone else. So maybe if you didn't change anything, that would be best…"

"You think?" asked Hermione doubtfully.

"Yes, I do. I shouldn't be interfering in this anyways. I mean, what if I screw it up? It's your relationship, 'Mione, and I know it's going to work out in its own way. Just let me know how it goes."

"Thanks Gin." Hermione hugged her. "I will."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Hermione and Draco sat side-by-side in the library one day, reading. They were both silent, but it was a comfortable silence.

It was around eight in the evening and they had already had their dinner.

The library was almost empty and even the librarian appeared to have gone off somewhere. Perhaps she had decided to take the night off because it was freezing cold.

"Are you done yet, Granger?" asked Draco a few minutes after he'd finished.

"What does it look like?" she shot back without looking up.

"You're _slow_." He whined.

She couldn't help but grin. "No, my book's just longer than yours. Not all of us enjoy reading ridiculously tiny preschool-level books, you know."

He looked mock-offended. "Well, if you're going to be like _that_ about it…" he stuck out his tongue and turned away from her, crossing his arms.

She couldn't help but smile before returning to her book.

After a moment, he demanded "Well? Aren't you going to beg my forgiveness?"

"Nope." She replied cheerfully. "Fine." He returned to his original position. She giggled.

--

"Okay, I'm done!" she announced.

"It's about bloody time, Granger. Honestly." He said.

"Shut up."

When someone's last response to your statement is 'shut up', or 'moron', or even 'get lost', you knew you had them beat, and accordingly, Draco smirked.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Are you hungry?" asked Draco after a moment.

"Draco, we had dinner two hours ago." _He couldn't possibly be hungry already, could he?_

"I _know_. I'm starving too." he said. She laughed. "What?" he asked innocently.

She shook her head. "Okay, let's go to the kitchen." she said with a grin.

--

They chatted on the way to the kitchen about everything, teachers, books they were reading, random thoughts, everything.

Hermione couldn't help but think that she couldn't be so comfortable with anyone.

It was like there was always something to talk about with Draco. There was never an awkward quiet, only comfortable silence.

Once in the kitchen, Draco caught sight of an enormous chocolate cake and his pupils visibly dilated against his silvery gray irises.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. He looked so cute!

He asked the house elves if he could have it, and almost salivated when the _whole_ cake was placed in front of him.

"Oh my God, Draco, you're not going to eat the whole thing, are you?" she demanded.

He continued to state at the cake like it was some sort of confectioned God. "Draco? Dra-a-a-aco? _OI!_ Malfoy! Snap out of it!" she said, somehow wanting to laugh.

"I think I'm in heaven." He murmured. She rolled her eyes. "Well? Go on then. Eat the thing already."

And when he did, his pupils dilated even more.

Hermione watched in amusement, and even took a tiny lick of the icing on her finger to see if it was that good.

It was. It was brilliant, but she wasn't that hungry so she didn't have as much as Draco.

And as for Draco… Well, suffice it to say that by the time he was done, there was little more than a tray left on the table.

"Wow." Said Hermione, astonished at the speed at which the cake had been eaten.

Draco said "I'll be on the sugar rush for the next four days, I think."

She giggled. He grinned.

"C'mon, let's go back." He said.

She nodded and stood up. "Shall I walk you to your dorm?" He asked, gentlemanly-ly.

"Nah, that's fine, it's n—" he interrupted her by pointing down the corridor and saying "Walk." Gentlemanly-ness gone, but adorable sweetness here. It hadn't been a question.

She smiled and started walking. They continued chatting. Right when they reached the door to the Gryffindor dorm, they turned to face each other.

"Well this was fun." She said with a grin.

He grinned back. "I doubt I'm going to sleep tonight, what with all that sugar."

"Serves you right." She retorted. Then, she tiptoes and kissed his cheek and pulled away the moment she registered what she'd just done.

"Goodnight," she said, her cheeks flushed and she went straight into her dorm.

Well, she tried to, anyway.

Just as she was about to say the password to the sleeping portrait, Draco's hand grabbed her's and he pulled her back towards him and kissed her on the lips.

She was so shocked, she almost didn't respond.

Almost.

But in a fraction of a second she felt herself relax, and wrap her arms around his neck and kiss back.

It was the most wonderful thing she'd ever felt. He was warm and his lips were soft and he smelt so good.

His arms were around her waist and he held her tight and close.

_It's just as well, or I think I'd fall over._ She thought, giddily. His warm breath tickled her upper lip.

After an eternity (but it must have been only a few seconds) he pulled away. "Now remind me why we haven't done that before?" he asked, breathless. "I haven't the slightest clue," she replied back, breathless as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The moment Hermione stepped into her dorm, she leant against the door in amazement and happiness. She was about to go to Ginny's room to tell her what had happened, but she decided not to, to hug this little moment to herself, at least for the rest of the night, not that there was much of it left.

She floated up to her dorm and lay down in her bed without changing to her old t-shirt and pants. To be honest, she'd forgotten all about it. She was just too happy and comfy to bother to remember.

Despite her happiness, she fell asleep almost instantly.

--

The next morning, she awoke with a sense of…something _strange._ She saw that she was fully dressed and wondered why. Then the previous night's events came flooding into her mind and she felt an absurd smile and flush come to her face. To say that she wasn't ecstatic would be an insult.

She practically skipped to the showers and bounded around while getting ready. She never _skipped._ It was strange, but she was so happy! Once she was dressed and ready, she went down to the Great Hall and sat down with Harry and Ron and Ginny, but she didn't see Draco. Almost disappointed, she said hi to her friends.

In a few moments, along with a bunch of his friends, Draco came down. Hermione found herself unable to not stare. He caught her eye, and smiled. His cheeks turned a light (and, in Hermione's opinion, absolutely adorable) shade of pink. She smiled back and gave a tiny wave. He waved back, before he was swept away by his friends.

Hermione turned back to _her_ friends, only to find Ginny staring at her with a knowing smile. "What?" asked Hermione. "_What?"_

"He kissed you didn't he?" she asked with a smile. Hermione was about to give an indignant response, but before she could she found her face glowing bright red. Ginny squealed. The entire Great Hall (including Draco) turned to stare at her. Ginny laughed nervously and in a few highly embarrassing seconds, everybody went back to their own thing.

"_He kissed you, didn't he?_" repeated Ginny in a hiss, now.

Hermione flushed, and it was answer enough. "OHMIGOD, 'Mione!" How was it?"

"It was amazing, Gin, it was the best moment of my life!"

Ginny whisper-squealed. "I am _so _happy for you!"

"Thanks, Gin" said Hermione. Ginny smiled, then snapped at Harry and Ron, "What're you looking at?"

"Women." Said Harry to Ron, rolling his eyes. Ron rolled his eyes in agreement and they continued eating.

--

Hermione sat in the library later on in the afternoon when she had a free period. She decided to sit at the tables and chairs and had just begun reading her book when Draco (insert mental squeal) slid into the seat next to hers. Before she could say a word, he cupped a hand around the back of her head, pulled her close and kissed her. After drawing away, he grinned and said "Afternoon, Granger."

She managed to regain some composure and said "Afternoon, Malfoy." He grinned again.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked. "It's called Vampires Unveiled." She said, showing him the cover.

His eyes widened and he snatched the book. "O-o-o-kay." She said to no-one in particular. "I have been wanting to read this since forever!" he exclaimed, earning him a stern glance from the librarian.

"You can have it once I'm done, if you want." She offered. "Try and stop me." He replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes.

The librarian glared at them both, her eyes projecting the 'SHUT UP' rays that she was notorious for. Draco ignored her and rolled his eyes at Hermione, who gave him a mock-stern look. He widened his eyes in mock-horror.

"Not you _too!_" he said, as though the whole world had morphed into zombies and were out to get him.

She grinned. He looked so adorable!

--

Soon enough, Hogwarts came to an end, and all the seventh years began to feel depressed, Hermione, Draco, Blaise, Harry, and Ron included. Hermione and Draco spent the remainder of their days trying to commit all the places in Hogwarts to memory, while people like Blaise and Harry spent their time with friends in their favourite places. Harry was with Ginny whenever he got the chance, and Ron, for his part, became grumpier.

Hermione felt really sorry for Ginny, who would be in Hogwarts for another year and would not see Harry during that time. But she knew that Harry wouldn't find another girlfriend during that time, and Ginny wouldn't find a boyfriend. They were both so loyal to each other, it was beyond sweet.

"I wish I didn't have to go this year." Admitted Harry to Hermione, and Hermione almost cried. While everyone else wanted to stay in Hogwarts because they loved it, which is a pretty self-centered mentality, she knew Harry wanted to stay because he wanted to be with Ginny. He would give up anything for her, and that was so selfless, Hermione was touched.

"I know, Harry." She hugged him.

Ginny on the other hand, was even more depressed, if that was humanely possible. "I wish I was a year older, then I could go with Harry." She sighed. "You're so lucky, Hermione. So, so, lucky." Hermione didn't even try to be optimistic. It was to no avail, and it would only make her seem unsympathetic. So instead, she nodded.

--

"I'm going to miss this place." Said Draco, on their last day there, as they stood by the library's giant arched doors.

"Me too." Hermione nodded sadly. He squeezed her hand in an attempt to cheer her up, but how can you cheer someone else up when you're feeling so utterly miserable yourself? But just for the sake of comfort, she squeezed back.

"You know," she commented, in an attempt to lighten the mood, "if someone had told me in first year that Draco Malfoy was going to be my boyfriend, I would've told them to get mental help." He chuckled. "Ditto here."

And it was with that and heavy hearts that they boarded the train leading them back to Platform 9 ¾.

--

Hermione was not looking forward—at _all _—to go back to her house, now Lindsey was there and neither was Draco willing to go home to his for reasons I really doubt I need to elaborate.

They were planning on getting jobs and moving out ASAP, but really, you have to stay in your home at least for a bit… and they wouldn't see each other for a while, which sucked.

At the platform, it was time for goodbyes. Hermione hugged all her friends and Draco his, and as soon as everyone began to disperse, they turned to face each other.

"Well," he said, attempting a smile. She attempted one right back. He put down his bags and hugged her, tight. She melted into his embrace and hugged back. And as soon as he loosened his grip slightly, she dragged his face down to hers and kissed him. "I'll miss you," she said, before kissing him again.

_I love you_, she thought, but didn't say it. It would only make things harder. Pulling away, he picked up his bags again and smiled at her. She picked up her own luggage and smiled back. "Bye, Draco," she said. "Bye 'Mione."

They turned around, and went home. But despite feeling immensely sad, Hermione knew she'd see him soon, and it gave her hope.

--

Hey, all! Sorry for the REALLY long wait, but I was seriously dry and had no clue what to do next. No fear, this is not the last chappie; I'll be putting in an epilogue in a while. But it won't be very soon, because I'm going to THAILAND tomorrow!! Whooo!!! Haha, anyways, thanks for being patient! Bye!!! Sawatdi!


End file.
